Smith thinks big, and Stevenson's back in Proviso West final
With every shot he took Friday, the basket started to look bigger and bigger to Stevenson sophomore Justin Smith.
During one hot stretch in the second quarter of the top-seeded Patriots semifinal contest with Kenwood Academy at the 54th annual Proviso West Holiday Tournament, Smith drained three 3-pointers - all from the same spot on the floor.
Stevenson needed each one of them as the long-range display from Smith sparked a decisive 15-0 Patriots run to lift the defending tournament champions into the championship game with a 66-37 win over the Broncos.
Stevenson (10-0) will face St. Joseph, a 72-65 winner over St. Rita in the other semifinal, for the tournament title at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Patriots and Chargers met in the tournament last year in the semifinals.
"The basket looked big - very big," said Smith who finished with 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting. "The last couple shots didn't feel good coming off my hand, but they went in so it was good."
The hot streak by Smith came at the right time for the Patriots as they were locked in a tight game with Kenwood (10-2). The Broncos had pulled to within 23-22 on a basket by Zion Morgan before Stevenson closed the half with a decisive run.
Smith hit his third 3-pointer of the quarter to extend the lead to 26-22, and the Patriots' defense proceeded to do the rest.
"We didn't come out real good in our rotations in the first quarter," said Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose. "We came out better in the second half."
Stevenson closed the first half by scoring the last 7 points, including a buzzer-beating 3 by Matt Johnson (14 points) to build a 30-23 halftime edge. The lead quickly grew to double digits in the third quarter as the stifling Patriots defense held Kenwood scoreless for a stretch of 5:32.
"Our defense all starts with trust," said Stevenson senior Connor Cashaw, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds. "I love how coach Ambrose lets us have our freedom when we run up and trap like we do."
Cashaw and Villanova-bound senior Jalen Brunson took control of the offense in the decisive third quarter by scoring 15 of the Patriots' 23 points. The 23-8 margin in the quarter blew the game open for Stevenson. Brunson led all scorers with 16 points in a very balanced Stevenson attack. Brunson also had 7 assists.
The huge third quarter took the lead to 53-30 heading into the fourth.
"It sounds somewhat trite, but it's true - you play three good teams to get to this point," Ambrose said of making the final for the second straight year.
The loss came with a price for Stevenson as key reserve Jeremy Webb injured his right wrist going up for a block in the third quarter.